Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Rajasthan Royals begin their IPL 2026 campaign against Chennai Super Kings on March 30 at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati, with the spotlight firmly on 14-year-old batting prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.Renowned for his aggressive strokeplay, Sooryavanshi has already piled up records across formats. He heads into IPL 2026 on the back of a stunning 175 in the Under-19 World Cup final, an innings that powered India to the title. He was the second-highest run-scorer with 439 runs in seven matches in the Under-19 World Cup, averaging 62.71 at a strike rate of 169.49, including a century and three fifties. He also smashed a record 30 sixes — the most in the tournament’s history.
Ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan said the season will be an important learning phase for the young batter, especially with opposition teams closely studying his game.Speaking on JioStar’s IPL show, Pathan explained that after succeeding across formats, Sooryavanshi now faces a new challenge as rivals have taken note of both his strengths and potential weaknesses.“This season of the IPL for Vaibhav Suryavanshi will be a learning one. He played in the tournament last year, he has played domestic cricket and he is playing cricket in all formats everywhere.He played in the Under-19 World Cup, he has taken part in the Ranji Trophy with Bihar, and he has scored runs everywhere,” Pathan said.“In white-ball cricket and red-ball cricket, everyone is taking note of him. Bowlers are doing the same. Since he has played so much cricket since his IPL debut last year, other players are watching his videos and analysing his weaknesses,” he added.Pathan emphasised that the 14-year-old left-hander must continue evolving his game and addressing areas of improvement. He added that Sooryavanshi’s recent dominance across formats will keep his confidence high as he looks to make a statement.“He has slammed centuries with ease in all forms of cricket. When you do that consistently, not just in IPL but in domestic cricket, Under-19 cricket and emerging matches, your confidence keeps going higher,” Pathan said.“This IPL season, all bowlers will be ready with their strategies, and Vaibhav will be looking to prove a point. He can do that by slamming another hundred in the IPL. When he scores runs consistently this season, that is when we can say Vaibhav Suryavanshi has upgraded his game,” he concluded.
